Passing Time
by GenericDude
Summary: On a moonlit night, a weary knight realizes the time he has left to fulfill his wish is drawing short. Will he see the light? One-shot Meta KnightxTiff. Don't know much about the Kirby world, pieced info from reading other fanfics.


Passing Time

The wind was blowing slightly across the green fields. He stood at the edge of a cliff, which overlooked a sapphire sea that shone beneath the bright moonlight. His thoughts billowed inside his head

_"How long do I have left?"_

He continued to think, reminiscing about his past life, from the first day he wore his mask to the current day, years later.

_"How much time do I have?"_

It hurt to know that life didn't last forever. All those things he wanted to do, but his duty restrained him. Because of what he was, he could not do the things he desired most.

But without him, the world would have been doomed. He was the only person with such skill as to keep danger at bay. But he couldn't keep doing it forever. He sighed and looked at his sword, Galaxia. Many a time had it seen action, and many a time had it slain an enemy. He looked at it and thought back to his glory days, when he realized something else.

Nothing lasted forever. He was getting old. As years went by, the quick, sharp mind he had begun to dull, along with his sword. Of course, he could still do multiple strikes at mach speed, but when he was younger, he was capable of even more. He realized again that as he grew older still, his move set became limited, and so did his quality of life.

_"When I go, will I be remembered?"_

It was a thought that made him feel heavy inside. Having served for so long, he always kept a straight face and gave everyone an impression of a mysterious man, who paced the castle by day and thought about life at night. But nobody had seen his emotions come out. Behind the mask, they remained sealed, like a curse of some sort, dying to be free. He wished it could be free, but duty bound him to the wall, unable to escape.

Wearily, after so much thinking, he sat down and gave a sigh.

_"When will they be done with me? When will King Dedede release me?"_

He realized that he wasn't going to be relieved of his job for a long time, mainly because he still had it. If he could fight, he could keep the job.

It wasn't a happy feeling.

_"When I'm released...I'll be too old...I'll be a withered old man, and...I'll never fulfil my dreams...or my wish"_

He had but one wish in his mind, a wish that had occurred not so long ago. His wish was to be loved, and to love someone equally as much. There was one person he desired more than anything, and that is what made him so sad. The difference in age made it seem so wrong...but he knew it felt so right.

"Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight swiftly turned around to see Tiff, the daughter of the cabinet minister, Sir Ebrum. She was almost an adult, nearing eighteen. Meta Knight looked down, then back up at her.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked. "It's cold out here. You should be back at the castle, sleeping"

"I'm not that tired. Honestly" she replied, then walked up next to him. "What I want to know is, what are you doing out here?"

Meta Knight would have ordered her to return, but just before he could say "Return to the castle at once", something stopped in his throat. He tried to utter the words, but failed.

_"What am I doing? She doesn't mean any harm..."_

He swallowed his spit before saying something else.

"I...I'm thinking of things" he said. He would have made it sound more important, but didn't have the time to.

"What things?" she asked. Meta Knight looked at Tiff one more time, then sat down, looking out to sea. Tiff decided to sit next to him, knowing something was wrong.

"Is it...bad?" she asked shyly. Meta Knight didn't move.

"No...it's not that important" he said. He then knew he was going nowhere. Time to rephrase the question, he thought.

"...Let me rephrase my answer again" he said. "I'm out here because I needed some time alone, but of course, now you're here..." he said. Tiff looked down.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you. I'll go" she said. Meta Knight suddenly put his hand on hers, trying to make her stay.

"No..." he said. Then, he looked at his and her hand, not realizing at first that he was holding it. Then, as if it were some foreign object he didn't like, he let go and floated his hand in the air for a second before bringing it back.

"Sorry" he said.

"No, it's okay..." Tiff said, not knowing what to say. Meta Knight then sighed and looked back to the blue, sparkling sea, which seemed calm and somewhat beautiful. Like someone else, he thought.

"So...why do you need time alone?" she asked. "Are you hurt?"

"Tiff, why are you asking me these questions?" Meta Knight asked hastily. Tiff thought she offended him and looked rather worried.

"It's just..." she said. "...I...I...I don't like seeing you hurt. Nothing personal...but..." she said. Meta Knight looked up to her. He felt something that he had never felt before. The curse that hid his emotions...it felt like there was a crack in it. He felt something by looking at her. Something good.

"...It's no worry" he said. "I understand. Who likes to see anyone hurt? My job's to make sure that doesn't happen anyway" he said. The both nervously chuckled, then Meta Knight cleared his throat.

"Besides, you asked me something?" he asked. Tiff had forgotten about it and was surprised when he asked her the question, as if she had been instantly forgiven.

"Oh...just...why do you need time alone?" she asked. Meta Knight gave a sigh.

_"I'm not sure if I should tell her...perhaps I could get it off my chest. She might understand...I hope"_

"...Tiff, I don't want to sound complaining or anything...but there's been something on my mind for a long time now" he said. Tiff listened carefully to what he said.

"...Do you think I'm old?" he asked. Tiff thought for a second.

"Well, not really. I mean, you're not like my dad. He's old" she said. Meta Knight liked the definition, then sighed.

"Tiff...Even though you say I'm not, there's no hiding it. I'm old...and I'm slowly withering away" he said. His voice seemed shaky and his thrat was choked up with tears.

"Meta Knight...don't cry. Why is being old such a bad thing?" she asked.

"...It's not the fact that I'm getting old..." he said, almost crying. "...But I've been closed away from life for so long...I'll never have the time to regain what I have lost...behind this mask" he said. He sniffed loudly and sighed again. A teardrop slid out of the V shaped hole in his mask and down it's shiny surface.

"Meta Knight...please, this isn't like you..." she said. Meta Knight then stood up and looked at her.

"I don't care!" he shouted. "What difference does it make to you!?! Can't you see that every day I live I'm forced to do the same old job again and again, nit being able to leave the castle, or being able to do the things I wanted to do all my life??? I don't want to be a soldier like this anymore! I want to be free! I don't want to spend another day holding onto the cursed sword!!!" he screamed and was about to throw his sword off the cliff. But he threw his arm, not letting go. He stopped himself from going insane. Tiff, who had taken a few steps back, frightened, watched as he slowly pulled his arm back in, looked down, fell to his knees and cried away.

Tiff watched as he cried on the floor, his sword resting on the ground. His hands were in his masked face, rubbing what tears came out of his eyes, his mask wet. Tiff could only watch this for a few seconds before she felt something explode inside of her.

She walked up to him and took his hand. Slowly, his crying reduced to sniffles as he looked up into Tiff's eyes.

"...T...Tiff...*sniff*..." he said.

"Meta Knight, that's enough" she said. "I want you to stop"

Meta Knight looked down, and concentrated.

_"...I...I must stop..."_

He gathered his thoughts and stood up, wiping his mask dry.

"...There's one more thing..." he said. "...I'm also afraid of growing old...because of...you" he said. Tiff became silent. Meta Knight knew he had to continue explaining.

"Tiff....I adore you" he said. Tiff let out a small gasp, letting go of Meta Knight's hand.

"...Meta Knight?" she said quietly, eyes wide open.

"It's true..." he said. "Ever since three years ago, I noticed something in you that no one else had. Your intellect, your understanding...and your face......I love them all......." he said. "I was restrained from doing all things I wanted to do with my life, and that fact alone was murder, but not being able to be with you....it just hurts.....*sniff*...........it hurts so badly....I....*sob*......now you know why I have these nights where I'm not at the castle..." he said quietly. "Tiff....I love you. I'm sorry, I just do. Please......just promise you won't hate me..........I won't know what to do if you hate me....*sniff*....please........please..........." he said, falling to his knees and looking down again.

He felt a hand slip into his and slowly bring him back up to his feet. He looked up to see Tiff, smiling.

"It's okay..." she said. "What you just said to me....I think it's so sweet of you....tee hee!" she said. Meta Knight was confused.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked. Tiff then gave Meta Knight a big hug, giggling some more.

"Don't you see?" she said. "I don't care if you're old. You're not that old anyway. You've still got a long time to go before you're dead" she said. Meta Knight considered the fact. But Tiff wasn't finished.

"Plus, all these years I've known you for....I thought you were an emotionless drag. But I knew there was something behind that mask of yours!" she said. Then, she realized something. _"What is behind that mask?"_

Meta Knight felt her hand slip beneath the bottom of his mask. He felt his heart almost stop as he felt her smooth finger against his chin, but he didn't protest. Instead, he brought his hand back and undid the buckle, causing the mask to fall off. He felt a gush of cold air wipe against his face. He felt free of his curse, a happiness bubbling inside him. He was looking up at Tiff, who looked equally as happy.

"Wow...you're handsome..." she said. Meta Knight was about to say something, but he suddenly felt her face press against his, their lips meeting. He turned red instantly, blushing so hard he thought his face would blow.

They parted quickly.

"...Tiff...did you just....." Meta Knight said, feeling his mouth. She tasted like strawberries, he thought. He wondered what he tasted like.

"...Shush" she said. "The moon's shining for us" The two looked at the moon, Meta Knight's nerves shaking like an old washing machine. But as he turned back, he felt her lips press against his once more, this time, her tongue sliding into his mouth. He felt extremely hot and his heartbeat was racing. He definitely did like the taste. He closed his eyes, breathing heavily and let Tiff take all the wind out of him. He brought a hand around to the side of her face and rubbed it softly. The two fell to the ground, their heads parting.

"Meta Knight....I love you too, you know" she said.

"Tiff....it doesn't look right" he said. Once again, they kissed, this time, Meta Knight's tongue taking the venture into her mouth. When he watched the films, he thought it was disgusting. But upon doing so himself, he noticed it was the best feeling he'd ever had. He didn't want it to stop, but almost forgot to breathe and pulled away, catching his breath. Tiff was doing also, until they realized what they were doing.

"...Hang on...." Meta Knight said, panting slightly. "We should be going back to the castle"

"That can wait" Tiff said. The two gave a small laugh and continued to kiss each other again. All through the night they romanced. As they did, Meta Knight felt so much better. He knew now he had a shoulder to lean on, a shining light and someone that would always care for him. Perhaps growing up wasn't so bad anymore. At least his wish came true. As the two kissed, the moon continued to shine in the air as the calm sea sparkled beneath the large cliff side.

THE HAPPY END


End file.
